G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #302: Given how much we've seen happen in "Transformers" and "Void Rivals," it feels weird how little progress we've seen in this title. But Hama makes it clear that he's taking his time as he dedicates five almost-wordless panels at Wade Collins' funeral.
The issue opens with Serpentor Khan attempting to rally the Cobra Island mutants to his cause — to take over Cobra HQ in Springfield and then the world. When someone questions why they need him, he shoots the offending someone in the head and offers his corpse as food to the rest of the mutants. Needless to say, it seems clear they'll follow him. The best part, though, is when a mutant who was an old lady on a Rascal asks Khan what his plans are — underscoring Hama's ability to make Cobra look as ridiculous as it occasionally is.
In Springfield, Cobra Commander briefs the family members of the Cobra employees he left on the Island, informing them that they're mobilizing all Cobra's resources to prepare for the inevitable attack Khan will launch on them. At Revanche's HQ, Alpha-001 learns of Khan's plans via hidden cameras the B.A.T.S planted in the Casino.
At the Pit in Utah, Mongoose asks Stalker why Collins got an Arlington funeral when he was a Cobra Crimson Guard. Stalker explains Wade was part of his and Snake-Eyes' unit in Vietnam. After a Vietcong attack, they thought Wade died, but he survived, spending the rest of the war as a POW. Rejected as a vet, Wade joined Cobra until Stalker and Snake-Eyes convinced him to leave. Hawk created a new identity for him and his adoptive family, and one day his son, Sean, joined the Joes.
In the Command Center, Mainframe tells Duke and Roadblock about the Cobra-on-Cobra violence, thanks to the fact he hacked Revanche, underscoring Revanche isn't as much of a threat as I originally thought.
Meanwhile, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes are together in a mountain cabin in the Sierras. Snake-Eyes (whose face remains hidden) tries to tell Scarlett something, but she tells him to wait because she heard a sound. Excitingly, one of Timber's descendants brings a wolf puppy to Snake-Eyes.
Again, it isn't the most thrilling issue, but we're clearly building to something.
Kill Your Darlings #4: Oof. I honestly stopped breathing at some point, reading this issue.
The issue opens with a young Rose locked in the dark basement as punishment for something she did to make her mother mad. It reveals something from the first issue, that Rose's mother wasn't all hugs and pancakes.
In Rosewood, the "Great and Terrible Evil" chases Rose through a cave and into a cavern, where a purple light shines on a mesa. Evil resurrects some of Rose's former soldiers to attack her, and Rose flees to the mesa, grabbing Francine, the source of the light. Rose slashes through the undead as Evil continues to ask her why she returned to Rosewood. Rose confesses what I think we all assumed — she hoped she could somehow bring back her mother.
Evil then summons her mother (or, at least, a simulacrum of her). Rose's "mom" promises to take care of her, though Evil comments that she never really did. We see image's of Rose's childhood: of her alone watching TV or staring into an empty fridge, of her sleeping in the car outside the restaurant where her mom worked, of her alone in the dark basement. Her mom is suddenly ablaze and attacks Rose who kills her with Francine. Evil then tells Rose her mother's greatest legacy — even more than the scars she left — is him and pushes her into a cavern.
Rose suddenly falls through the ceiling of the video store, where some employees are fixing the damage and one is giving testimony to a cop. She loses consciousness and "awakens" to blood everywhere and Evil ripping apart a cop. Evil asks if she slept through it, implying Rose lost consciousness when he killed her mother. Evil revels in his much bigger "playground," threatening to make Elliott watch what he does and telling Rose that Elliott is screaming at what Evil has already done with his hands. As Evil seems ready to kill Rose, the door's bell rings and Evil turns to see a woman in a wheelchair. Calling her "master," it seems clear that she's the Girl who Wouldn't Burn.
As I said, oof.
Star Wars: Revelations #1: For an FCBD-style anthology, this issue is pretty solid.
The best story is the first one, as Salli Georgio, Advocate-at-Large, tries to convince a judge that a Jedi used his mind trick to get Dengar to destroy "half the port district" as a distraction — and that Dengar didn't, instead, have two bottles of revnog in his system when he stole a speeder and committed the damage. That story is, in and of itself, hilarious enough to merit inclusion but gets better when Lando calls Salli to defend him at his upcoming treason trial. Ha! I can't wait to see Salli in action again.
The Darth Vader story also intrigues me, as Vader apparently plans to track down an elite group of Rebel cyborgs to insert Imperial droid cognitive units in their bodies. Vader developed this plan after realizing that the Emperor cost him years of work when he made him kill his own Death Troopers (in issue #40), but droids aren't capable of absorbing the years of training that organics are. Vader hopes to put the two together, which sounds terrible and Vader-y. That said, the best part is when the protocol droid contemplates the horror awaiting the cyborgs — being trapped in bodies that a master controls — and Vader unceremoniously cuts him in two since his comment struck a little too close to home.
The other ones are pretty good, too. Sliney's artwork and Woodard's colors on the Jango Fett story evoke Marvel's '70s era "Star Wars" series, which is a pleasure to see. The High Republic story is touching, as Keeve comes across a local using a lightsaber he found to try to inspire hope in the people of Gallimere on the edge of the Nihil Occlusion Zone.
All in all, as I said, it's pretty great for this sort of issue.
Undiscovered Country #27: Man, every time you think you're going to get a win in this series...
I was wondering how Snyder and Soule were going to meet the timeframe they've laid out every time they write back matter, given we have a number of unvisited zones left but not many remaining issues. We get the answer here, as Pavel explains to the team that he traveled those lands on his way to them.
Before Pavel tells his story, though, an enraged Janet screams at Chang over his failure to reveal the phone's existence. When Pavel suggests they go to Aurora, Janet says they have to find Daniel first. I thought this comment was interesting coming from Janet, though she may see the need for an ally after Chang betrayed her. At any rate, Pavel suggests Daniel is likely already there and tells his story.
Disturbed by his failure to save his comrades when he was a POW, Pavel resolved to free the people of Zone Destiny or die trying. Despite thousands dead, Pavel and his allies succeeded after a year. Pavel then spendt ten years as the war hero he hoped he would be, helping Zone Destiny rebuild itself into a successful society. But the demon-looking horse arrived for him one day.
Pavel then explains his journey through America. He describes Zone Glory, which appears to replicate an active war between the United States and the Soviet Union, a war that Aurora would never allow either side to win. In Zone Economy, we see capitalism run amok, a place Pavel left as soon as he could. We then pass through a series of zones without comment - Publicity, Ministry, Security, Biology, and Theocracy - before Pavel arrives in Zone Bounty.
Pavel suggests that they've all now seen everything Aurora wanted them to see, and it's time to travel to the heart. The giant who runs Zone Bounty suggests they can send the train two days earlier than usual. Before they leave, though, Janet demands the phone from Charlotte and then tells Chang that they are, in no uncertain terms, done. Meanwhile, Ace, Charlotte, and Valentina thank the giant, noting Bounty is the only zone where they've gotten unconditional help.
The giant asks them to ask Aurora about the plague, concerned that the locusts will destroy the crop the following year and the entire country will suffer. They agree and board the train, hopeful about the future. Ace considers the promise of America, and Valentina notes this train has fed America year after year, as Bounty's residents exported their surplus food without asking anything in return.
Of course, as I see the focus turn to the locusts, I know something bad is going to happen. It doesn't, because it already happened: each version of the train is in a ditch, with the locusts hovering above it.
Snyder and Soule, man.
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